But the data largely reflects sales agreed before the pandemic began to cripple the UK economy and an unprecedented lockdown paralysed most property market activity. The government has now urged against all but essential house moves.

Some experts suggest house price data is increasingly unreliable and irrelevant in the current climate. With sale numbers falling sharply, Halifax itself admitted calculating average prices would become more challenging.

“With no sales data and no history of this sort of event happening, all it is is guesswork. Right now, we should all be thankful for our homes as a place to shelter and protect our family,” said Ben Johnson, director of off-market property app Houso.

“A sudden freeze in market activity of this proportion will start to impact price growth notably as the months go on,” said Colby Short, CEO of estate agent comparison site GetAgent.

Paresh Raja, CEO of lender Market Financial Solutions, also said current forecasts suggested a significant drop-off from recent growth. But he said he was optimistic that any decline would be “momentary.”

There is a confidence among many estate agents that the downturn may only last as long as the lockdown however. Strong pent-up demand after years of Brexit uncertainty and cheap credit are expected to continue to push up prices once government restrictions lift.

Lay-offs and benefit claims have spiked, household spending has shrunk and some banks have tightened lending rules, which could all hit buyer demand.

A survey by online mortgage broker Trussle also appears to show buyers’ appetite for moves being hit harder than sellers. It found almost half of Brits surveyed who were looking for a home last month decided to delay because of the pandemic, compared to just one in five of those looking to sell.